Music inspired by nature

Music is a way to express our passions and the way we feel. No one knows that better than Pro Coro Chamber Choir artistic director and conductor Michael Zaugg.

Zaugg gave up his artistic positions in Eastern Canada and moved to Edmonton this summer to manage the choir.

The family man with two young children is just settling into prairie rhythms. When the Gazette reached the Swiss-born musician, he had returned from a Thanksgiving weekend in the mountains.

“Being Swiss, I love the mountains and being close to nature is important to me,” Zaugg said in a telephone interview.

It’s in part this love of nature and a keen appreciation of the vast treasure of Canadian choral composers that provide the foundation for Garden of Bells, Pro Coro’s official season launch on Oct. 19 at All Saints Anglican Cathedral.

This exciting a cappella concert presents a diverse all-Canadian repertoire featuring Matthew Whittal, Raimundo Gonzalez, Robert Rival, François Ouimet and Alain Gagnon.

One of the showcase tunes is Whittal’s As One Listens to the Rain. Influenced by Octavio Paz’s poetry, the Canadian-born, Finnish resident uses the sound of rain as a natural backdrop to the text.

“It’s a repetitive pattern. He uses North American harmonies with jazz and pop influences,” notes Zaugg.

Gonzalez, a Pro Coro singer, contributes My Soul, a composition adopted from a biblical text on the crucifixion.

“It’s lush and very big. It’s a big outcry of pain, very dramatic. At the end, it stops like a heartbeat and it’s very quiet. It has a very heart-stopping end.”

Calgary-born Robert Rival, the Edmonton Symphony’s former resident composer, composed Sowing Season 10 years ago while studying in Paris. However, in a twist of fate, the choral composition has sat on a shelf for a decade and receives its premiere this weekend.

Zaugg describes it as tale of an old, ragged farmer methodically seeding his field in the twilight hours. As the shadows grow longer, an observer marvels at the farmer’s resilience at the life-affirming labour.

Perhaps the most eclectic composer is François Ouimet, a choirmaster for superstar Nezet-Seguin and a funk band electric bass player. His Tryptique Nordique is a mélange of cold, wintry Montreal scenes.

“Three themes describe Montreal in winter and it’s similar to Edmonton winters. I thought the audience might enjoy it.”

And finally, despite Alain Gagnon’s fame in Quebec, he is little known in the rest of Canada. Paroles dorĂ©es (Golden Words) was first performed 10 years ago in New York.

“His music is quite demanding for listeners and for singers. He has beautiful melodies, but you really have to dive into them.”

The concert features 22 singers including St. Albert’s Carol Kube, and husband-wife couple Michael and Gillian Kurschat-Brinston.